^w$m^mi 



TS 1665 
.M26 
Copy 1 




SILK, 




Vrax/ 2^X 



PHILADELPHIA: 

. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1892. 



SILK. 



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^ 




PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1892. 



^ 



<"sr\ 



\^ _ ^ 



Copyright, 1892, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 




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1 ^\ . 



SILK. 



Silk. The Chinese appear to be the first people 
who applied themselves to sericulture, although 
some claim for the Tussur silk of India the earliest 
silk fibre used. The words Seres used by Theo- 
phanes and Serinda hy Procopius were in all 
probability so used to indicate that part of the 
East, which was no doubt China, where the silk 
industry existed at a very remote period. Ptolemy 
was the first to use the word Series for China, or 
rather the northern part of it, knoAvn later as 
Cathay ; and the name is derived from the Chinese 
name of the silkworm sze, see, or si, in Corean sir, 
whence the Greek offp, ' the silkworm ; ' o^peg, ' the 
people furnishing silk;' and aypiKov, 'silk.' The 
Latin sericum has been traced direct to the Mongol 
sirkeh ; and the serikoth of Isaiah, xix. 9, has been 
supposed to be silk. From sericum is derived the 
French soie ; and etymologically connected with it 
are the German seide, the Russian sheolk, the 
Anglo-Saxon seolc, the Icelandic silke, and the 
English silk. We are informed by Hawae-nan-tze, 
in a Chinese work called the Silkicorm Classic, 
that Se-ling-she, the principal queen of Hwang- 
te (2640 B.C.), was the first to rear silkAvorms, 
and the Emperor Hwang-te was induced to invent 
robes and garments from this circumstance. The 
Chinese historians carry back the cultivation of 
the mulberry and the breeding of silkworms to 
the mythic period. If they are to be believed, 
the art of silk-reeling was known in China in the 
time of Fouh-hi, a century before the date usually 
assigned to the biblical deluge, and Hwang-te's 
queen did not disdain to share in the labours 
attending the care of the insect, as well as in 
those of the loom, the invention of which seems 



4 SILK. 

to be attributed to her, and to have raised her 
to the position of a tutelary genius with special 
altars of her own. But whatever the precise date 
of the discovery, it appears there can be no 
question of the very high antiquity of the know- 
ledge of the worm and its product in China. A 
series of imperial edicts and voluminous litera- 
ture of practical treatises testify to the importance 
of the industry and the care that was taken to 
foster an art which was considered, according to 
M. de Rosny, ' best fitted to promote the morality 
of the people and extinguish pauperism in the 
empire.' The queen and wives of the nobles 
through successive generations personally attended 
to the rearing of the silkworms. That this silk 
was of the mulberry-fed kind is evident from a 
further extract from the Silkworm Classic, which 
says that afterwards ' When Yu regulated the 
waters (2200 B.C.) mention is made, in his work on 
the tribute, of the land adapted for the mulberry- 
tree having been supplied with silkworms, from 
which time the advantage tliereof gradually in- 
creased.' It is not known whether silk was 
utilised in India at so early a period as this — 
probably not ; but that India learned the art from 
China is generally believed, although at what 
period is not known. 

About the middle of the 6th century A.D. the 
western world received a supply of silkworms' eggs. 
They were conveyed from China to Constantin- 
ople by two Persian monks who had gone to the 
East as missionaries, and had observed in China the 
various processes connected with the rearing of 
silkworms, the nature of the trees on which they 
fed, and the preparation of the silk. This occurred 
in the year 552, in the reign of Justinian, who gave 
every encouragement to the introduction of the 
valuable insect. The eggs were secretly conveyed 
from China within a hollow cane ; at the proper 
season they were hatched, and the caterpillars were 
fed on the'leaves of the wild mulberry-tree. The 
monks continued to superintend at Constantinople 
the rearing of the insects and the whole process of 
manufacturing the silk. From this small com- 
mencement the myriads of silkworms have sprung 
which throughout eastern and western Asia have 
met the demand for silk— a demand that has gone 
on increasing from that time to the present. 

Natural and Life Hist or i/.— The natural history 
of every kind of silk niay be briefly stated, 
laid by the moth, of whatever 



SILK. 5 

species, appears in due season a small larva, 
or caterpillar, or worm, as it is usually called. 
This worm, after having lived its day, feeding only 
on the leaves of certain plants specially suited to its 
own species, and increasing in size, spins, or rather 
secretes, a fine silk thread around itself for a cover- 
ing and protection during the time it lies dormant 
in the next stage of its existence. As soon as it 
has secreted all the silk, it changes into a pupa or 
chrysalis, and remains inside its silken cell until 
the time for its appearance as an imago or perfect 
moth, having four scaly wings, with six legs, and 
two antennae, which are larger in the male than 
m the female. When its hyhernation is ended it 
emits a fluid which softens the end of its cocoon 
cell, and, hy means of its wing-spines and legs, 
parts the fibres aside until the opening is large 
enough for it to creep out. After a short time its 
wings expand and dry, and it enters into a per- 
fect state. It lives only a few days in this phase 
of existence. It is in this stage only that the 
race is perpetuated, the female laying a number 
of eggs and dying soon afterwards (see the articles 
Insects, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Cocoon). 

There are a number of species of silkworms 
whose food is the leaves of the mulberry-tree, the 
principal and most useful of which is the Bombyx 
mori. The following is a list of mulberry-feeders, 
the various kinds of Bombyx alone being domes- 
ticated, the others being wild : 

Bombyx mori (Linnaeus).— The common silkAvorm, do- 
mesticated in China, Bokhara, Afghanistan, Cashmere, 
lersia feouth Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Algeria, 
Italy, J^ ranee, and Spain, in all which countries it pro- 
duces Init one crop annually, spinning the largest cocoon 
and the best silk of a golden yellow or white 

B textor (Hutton).— The Boro Poloo of Bengal 
domesticated in South China and Bengal ; an annual 
only, producing a white (sometimes yellow) cocoon of 
a different texture and more flossy than B. mori. 

B. sinensis (Hutton).— The Sina, Cheena, or small 
Chinese monthly worm of Bengal, introduced from 
China, and partially domesticated in Bengal ; produces 
several broods in the year ; cocoon white and yellow. 

^.crres; (Hutton).— The Nistri or Madrassee of Bengal, 
introduced from China, and domesticated in Bengal ; 
yielding seven or eight broods of golden yellow cocoons 
in the year of larger size than B. sinensis. 

B.fortunatus (Hutton).— The Desi or Chota Poloo of 
Bengal; yields several broods annually, spinning the 
smallest cocoon of a golden yellow colour. 

B. arcicancnsis (Hutton).— The Burmese silkworm. 



6 SILK. 

domesticated in Arakan, said to have been introduced 
from China ; yields several broods annually ; cocoons 
larger than the Bengal monthly species. 

Theophila huttoni (Westwood). — The wild silkworm 
of the north-west Himalayas, feeding on the indigenous 
mulberry in the mountain forests. 

T. sherwilli (Moore). — The wild silkworm of the south- 
east Himalayas. 

T. bengalcnsis (Hutton). — The wild silkworm of Lower 
Bengal, discovered in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, 
feeding on Artocarpus lacoocha. Found also at 
Ranchee, in Chota Nagpore. 

T. religiosa (Heifer). — The Joree of Assam and Deo- 
mooga of Cachar. Feeds also on the ber tree [Ficus 
hemtalcnsis) and the peepul {F. religiosa). 

T. mandarina (Moore). — The wild silkworm of Chekiang, 
North China ; said to feed on wild mulberry -trees, 
spinning a white cocoon. 

Ocmaralactea (Hutton). — Mussooree, north-west Hima- 
layas ; also feeds on Ficus venosa, spinning a small 
yellow cocoon, yielding several broods during the 
summer. 

O. moorei (Hutton).— Mussooree ; also feeds on F. 
venosa, as well as on the wild fig, spinning a small 
white cocoon. It is a multivoltine (see below). 

0. (i<Vtp/ian« (Moore.)— Khasi Hills. 

Trilocha varians (Walker).— North and South India. 

In Italy and Fiance B. mori is cultivated under 
active government encouragement and oversight, 
having during centuries of effort become a sub- 
ject of high national importance. The United 
States of America and the British colonies are 
making efforts to introduce the cultivation of the 
B. mori; the only hindrance being in the high 
price of labour for cocoon reeling. The B. mori is 
univoltine or annual ; but the B. fortimatus and^. 
crcesi, which are confined to Bengal, are multivoltine 
— i. e. they produce several broods annually. For 
wild silks not from mulberry feeders, see page 456. 

C/am^c«iw*?.— Thesilk-producingLepidopterous 
insects are of many species, possessing very marked 
structural differences, whilst the variety and quiet 
beauty of their colours, and in many species their 
large size, contribute greatly to the charm of study- 
ing this branch of natural history. They belong 
to the order Lepidoptera, sub-order Heterocera or 
Moths, group Bombycina, and to several of the 
twenty -seven or more families which compose this 
group, the most important being the Bombycida? 
and the 8aturnid[e. All the Saturnidsie are silk- 
producers, but not all the Bombycida\ Recent 
researches have resulted in adding many new or 
previously unknown species to the list of silk- 



SILK. 



producers, and the known number is now upwards 
of 400, and the list is by no means complete. 

The Bombycid;^ have a very short and rudi- 
mentary proboscis, live for a very brief time in 
their perfect state, and take little or no food; 
the body is thick and hairy; the antennjB are 
pectmated. The caterpillars feed on the leaves 
and other tender parts of trees or other plants ; the 
chrysalises are enclosed in a cocoon of silk, which 
gives to some of the species a great economical 
iniportance. The most important is the Common 
Silkworm {Bomhyx mori), cultivated chiefly in 




Fi-;. 1. —Common Silkworm {Bomhyx mart): 

a, larva, full grown ; h, larva, seripositing ; c, cocoon • 

a, chrysalis ; e, female inoth ; /, male moth. 

China, Japan, Italy, and France. The perfect 
moth IS about an inch in length, the female rather 
larger than the male ; the wings meeting like the 
sues of a roof ; the colour pale buff with a broad 
pale brown l>ar across the upper wings. The 



8 SILK. 

females generally die very soon after they have 
laid their eggs, and the males do not survive much 
longer. The eggs are numerous, about the size of 
a pin's head, not attached together, but fastened 
to the surface on which they are laid by a gummy 
substance, which, when dry, becomes silky. In 
Europe they are laid in spring, and are hatched in 
summer. The caterpillar is at first very small, not 
more than a quarter of an inch in length, but 
rapidly increases in size, till, when full grown, it is 
nearly 3 inches long. It is of a yellowish-gray 
colour. The head is large. On the upper part of 
the last joint of the body is a horn-like process. 
The skin is changed four times during the growth 
of the caterpillar. Before each change of the skin 
it becomes lethargic and ceases to eat, whereas at 
other times it is very voracious. When the skin is 
ready to be cast oft" it ])ursts at the forepart, and 
the caterpillar then, by continually writhing its 
body, without moving from the spot, thrusts it 
backwards ; but silkworms frequently die during 
the change of skin. A very rapid increase of size 
takes place whilst the new skin is still soft. The 
natural food of the silkworm is the leaves of the 
white mulberry, but it will also feed on the leaves 
of some other plants, as the black mulberry 
and the lettuce. When so fed, however, it pro- 
duces silk of inferior quality. The silk-producing 
organs are two large glands [serictcria) containing 
a viscid substance ; they extend along great part 
of the body, and terminate in two seripositors in 
the mouth. These glands become very large when 
the change to the chrysalis or pupa state is about 
to take place. When al>out to spin its cocoon the 
silkworm ceases to eat, and first produces the loose 
rough fibre which forms the outer part of the 
cocoon, and then the more closely disposed and 
valuable fibre of its interior. In this jirocess the 
position of the hinder part of tlie body is little 
changed, but the head is moved from one point to 
another ; and the cocoon when finished is much 
shorter than the body, which, however, being bent, 
is completely enclosed in it. The cocoon is about 
the size of a pigeon's egg. Each fibre of silk or 
have, when examined by a microscope, is seen to 
be double or of two hrins, being equally derived 
from the two silk- producing organs of the cater- 
pillar. The have or double thread often exceeds 
1100 feet in length. The time of the silkAvorm's 
life in the caterpillar state is generally about eight 
weeks. Al)out five days are occupied in the spin- 



SILK. 9 

iiing of the cocoon, after which about two or three 
weeks elapse before the cocoon bursts and the per- 
fect insect conies forth. The opening of the end of 
the cocoon by the moth for its escape is, however, 
injurious to the free and perfect reeling of the silk 
from the cocoon, and the silkworm rearer prevents 
this by throwing all the cocoons into hot water or 
more usually into an oven, called in France 
ctouffoir, sechoir, heated by hot air or by steam, 
except those which he intends to keep f(n- breeding. 
These he selects with care, so that he may have 
about an equal number of male and female insects, 
the females being known even in the chrysalis 
state by their larger size. The cocoons intended 
for the production of moths are placed on a cloth 
in a somewhat darkened room, of which the tem- 
perature is near, but does not exceed, 7*2° F. ; and 
the moths, when produced, show no inclination to 
fly away, but remain on tlie cloth, lay their eggs, 
and die there. It is an interesting peculiarity of 
this valuable species of moth that neither in the 
caterpillar nor in the winged state does it show 
that restless disposition which belongs to many 
others, the caterpillars remaining contentedly in 
the trays or boxes in which they are placed, feeding 
on tlie leaves with which they are there supplied, 
and at last only seeking a proper place for making 
their cocoons for their covering and protection. 
Whilst assuming the chrysalis state small bundles 
of twigs are placed above the feeding-trays for the 
worms at their last caterpillar stage to resort to 
for cocoon building. Owing to this peculiarity or 
domesticity, it is capable of being reared and 
managed in a way which would otherwise be 
impossible. 

Rearing of Silkworms. — It is of the first conse- 
quence in the production of silk that one of the 
species of mulberry should be cultivated, and that 
it should be so favourably situated as to climate 
that it is in readiness for feeding the worms. The 
species best adapted is the white mulberry. Morns 
alba. The extreme lateness of season at which the 
black mulberry produces its leaves prevents its 
employment generally, besides which it will not 
bear the loss of its leaves so well. It is said that 
in some parts of China the silkworm is easily 
reared upon the trees in the open air. So little 
has it a tendency to Avander far from the place of 
its birth, if food be at hand, that it only requires a 
Avarm, dry atmosphere to bring it to perfection ; 
but usually, even in China, and in all other 



10 SILK. 

countries, it is thought desirable to raise the silk- 
worm in properly arranged building, and to supply 
it with mulberry leaves gathered from day to day. 
In Intiia. China, and other tropical countries the 
eggs hatoh readily at the proper time by the 
natural heat ; but in southern Europe artificial 
heat is almost always required ; formerly the heat 
of fermenting dung was found ser\-iceabie, and the 
warmth of the Imman tK>dy was also use<i. the 
eggs l>eing carried in little bags in the 1x>som of 
the culrivator : but now they are regularly hatched 
by stove-heat, ]>eguining Avith a temperature of 64'' 
F., which is gradually increased through ten days 
to 82", at which it is maintained until the eggs are 
hatched. Experience has sho\NTi that the operation 
is facilitated by washing the eggs in the first place 
with clean water ; and some cultivators also wash 
them in wine, the value of which is very question- 
able. Washing is found to remove a certain gum- 
miness and other impurities from the eggs which 
would otherwise impede the hatcliing. AVhen the 
silkworms have 1>een regoilarly developed as aljove 
descriljed, it is usual to place above the trays con- 
trivances for the caterpillar to spin withiiL In feed- 
ing the worms care is taken so to distribute the foo<i 
on the shelves or in the trays that the insects shall 
not crowd together ; and for this reason the most 
careful culrivators chop the leaves small, and strew 
them very evenly alx)ut. Great care is taken not 
to let the worms of one hatch mix \rith those of 
another, unless of exactly the same age. otherwise 
the stronger insects would deprive the younger of 
their food. Many other niceties of attention are 
required, which altogether render the successful 
rearing of silkworms a matter of much anxiety and 
labour. 

Diseases. — Silkworms are subject to various 
diseases. In all about fifteen have l>een defined, 
but the most important, which only need mention 
here, are Muscardiru, Pehrin^, Flacherk, Guttine, 
and Grasserk. Muscardlne is the result of the 
growth on the silkworm of a microscopic fungus 
named Botrt/tu bassiana. The spores of this minute 
fungus are not larger than the two milliemes of a 
millimetre. They are carried by the air. and fall- 
ing on the mull>en-y leaves or on the worms cause 
the disease. Worms aifected ^rith muscardine die 
l>efore arriving at the moth. In the magnaneries 
where the disease is present or is suspected they are 
daily fumigate*! \vith sulphurous acid ga< (fumes of 
snlphnr), which kills the spores, but does not hurt 



SILK, 

the w»>rm- Fthrine. » the _ 
Worms aifeeted witk it are 
teeteil; 




T9Sfi&f, The mtetHT «f de \tAf ml a 
o^ten fovHK t» be mote fiA af <Mcp 
mall the Sfr itagpwqf tbei 

biii <i(mm ^7^ H. Fetei^, aitd 

Ae 




«( 

l&m tihat pehra^e ha» nearir 
-'^— rf laea&Bes in Fi 



^eviov^ , ^ 

and it ikW anbr edsts wheie these _.,«.-«-.«, 
are not saffiaestfr observed. JTonh?!^ » a 4eat{lT 
and coBtagioas f&ease, aad b the resulr of hae- 
tenal gr«Mrth «f , vibaaae natiBe. The wona* 



aare attack. last sta^s, ha»rae arrived at 

«*^«n »gii^.£e,a^deeempQfie 

niprily, a t,_ . ..^feer aaoetMes wa^iagSia 
day. P^stear has U^ st^ied tfcsd^eee ad 
^pointed oQt pce«i»tEveraBe«fie& It b ^ler- 
aPythe zesnh af oths dseases and thew^ «$ 
jwifer ^eeantHMi, e9peeial&r as ti> the candid ees- 
s^^nacMa «tf the e^s froa the laving «rf thsK t» 
tfee unae thej are hatched. G^mmei& a ^ease 
^^^^» eharaets, aad s pi«hahh^ only a 

paportaKe thaa the other -ii^-v^. t.^^ j^ j^ 
mtCTesti^ and notr Tery w- ^>,i. a 

fi^wi^ms win &eqifi»itiy be ae miist 

of heahhy oaesy which are e^tdtaix , d^^ia^^ aawi- 
m^ siowiy, with a giotjsr skia^ be^Mmn^ thnmer 
»ifotigw. fa the ydIowta«e»the€olo«r becomes 
bc%te^ and m the w^te races aa imheahihy milkT- 
white app^»iiee^ aad tfeoogh the skin thsie 
exades a &ty Si|aid wfaseh aad«- the uiezweope 
s? «e^ tfv ?rfTrr=trr * moItitBile of OMuiy-^ded 
~ indiMNiSw A cold^ stagaant. 

^1^ * a too oowded c^uobe-^ 

iav.,..^>> :xie •:t>tiiaien...»aBent of ths deease, wMeh 
B aeitfa»> here£Usy nor coBtagisiBSw 
^g^r^ww •/^Bfc— lifhea the coeooas areeoia- 
fieted, which is known b*^ the abeeiKe of aav 
sowid within, they are eitetJix sorted. vA 'a 
*--*— -aaiber are kept fiMrbree&ig^ The sexes 



12 SILK. 

are readily known by the difference of shape as 
well as of size. The French growers sort them 
into several varieties ; those which are less com- 
pact, or in which the worm has died — a fact known 
by external indications — being separated from the 
good ones. When the sorting is finished, the 
cocoons are placed in an oven with a gentle heat, 
which kills the enclosed chrysalis — otherwise thejT" 
wonld all become perforated by the insect eating 
through ; they are then prepared for winding by 
first removing the Hossy covering, which is often 
someAvhat hard and compact. The cocoons are 
placed in basins of water, kept warm by charcoal 
fires, or in the larger establishments by steam. 
This softens the natural gum which coats the silk, 
and loosens the various coils of silk adhering 
together in the cocoon. The operator then takes 
a small battage brush made of twigs and stirs 
them about in the water. This catches the outside 
portions of the cocoon, from which the reelable 
thread is gradually iinwound. From three to five 
of thase ends are taken and united into one thread, 
which is passed through a polished metal or glass 
eye in the reeling-machine. In large filatures or 
silk establishments complex machinery is used for 
winding ; but reeling apparatus of greater sim- 
plicity is used by the Chinese, Ea,st Indians, and 
others. In all cases, however, the principle is the 
same. The plan most generally adopted in Italy 
is shown in fig. 2. 

Great care and skill are required in reeling silk 
from the cocoons, because, although the reeler 
starts with four or five or six cocoons, not only are 
their individual threads apt to break, but they are 
not all of the same length, so that one will run out 
before the others. These matters are carefully 
watched, and, as often as a thread breaks or a 
cocoon runs out, another thread is joined on and 
is made to adhere to the compound thread on the 
reel by its natural gumminess. Each cocoon gener- 
ally yields about 300 yards of thread, so that it 
takes 1200, 1500, or 1800 yards to make 300 yards 
of the filament of raw silk, l)y which name the 
reeled silk is alwaj^s known. The raw silk is 
made up into hanks of various sizes. That from 
China and Japan is tied in packages of six hanks 
each, technically called books, and sometimes the 
ends of these books are covered with silken caps 
very curiously formed out of unreeled cocoons 
macerated and felted into a thin material, so man- 
aged as to form a filmy cap sufficiently large to 



SILK. 



13 



cover a man's head. Formerly all raw silk requirefl 
to be made into compound and twisted threads was 
termed thrown silk, but at the present time much 
is woven in the raw state and afterwards dyed in 
the piece. The raw silk is used for the warp, and 
spun silk and cotton for the weft, of the cheaper 
kinds of silks, such as foulards and some satins, 
made in large quantities in Lyons. 

When the silk has to be thrown into organzine 
or tram, the raw silk is put into Avarm soap and 
water to soften • 

the gum, so as ^^=s^^as=^i 

to make the 
hanks wind 
more easily. 
The hanks are 
placed on large 
skeleton reels 
called swifts 
(A, B, tig. 2), so 
adjusted that 
they will hold 
the hanks 
tightly. B, the 
edge view, shows 
pairs. They are 




«, are m 



of lance- 



that the spokes, a, 
made of thin pieces 
wood, and each pair are rather nearer together 
at the axle than at the circumference, where they 
are connected together by a small band of cord, 
h, b. These bands are so tied that they v.-ill slip 
down easily to admit of the hanks being placed ; 
then, by pushing the cords upwards, the hank can 
be stretched to its fullest extent. 
This is necessary to compensate for 
the varying lengths of the hanks 
received from the ditierent countries. 
AV'hen the swifts are set in motion 
the silk is carried from the hanks to 
bobbins, upon which it is wound for 
the convenience of further operations. 
The bobbins are then taken from the 
winding to the cleaning machine, 
when they are placed on hxed spindles, 
so that they will turn with the 
slightest pull ; and the thread is 
passed through a small apparatus 
attached to the machine, which is specially called 
the cleaner, and consists essentially of two polished 
smooth-edged blades of metal (a, a, fig. 3) attached 
to a part of the frame of the machine, b. They are 
held- together by the screw, c, and are slightly 




Fig. 3. 



14 SILK. 

opened or closed by the other screw, d, so tliat the 
thread can be put between them doAvn to the small 
orifice, e, and then, by tightening the screw, pre- 
venting its return after passing through this small 
hole, which is the gauge of the thread, and which 
removes any irregulaiities or adherent dirt. The 
silk next passes over a glass or metal rod, and then 
through another small liole, much larger than that 
of the cleaner, and usually made of glass, on to 
the bobbin, upon which it is wound by the action 
of the machine. The next process is twisting the 
cleaned thread, by which it becomes better adapted 
for being combined with other threads. Doubling- 
is the next process, and this consists in running off 
a number of boljbins of twisted silk on to one 
l)obbin of a larger size, which is put into the throw- 
ing machine, when the ends of the doubled silk are 
passed through a smooth hole on to a large reel, 
which reel winds it into hanks, but twisting the 
threads into a fine cord as it goes from the bobbins 
to the reel. After this the hanks have to be again 
Avound on reels and bobbins for the weaver, the 
former for the warp and the latter for the weft. If 
it has been wound, cleaned, and thrown it is called 
tlirown-singles ; if wound, cleaned, doulded, and 
thrown, it is called tram, and is used for the richer 
silks and velvets, but only for the weft or shute ; 
and if wound, cleaned, spun, doubled, and thrown, 
it is called organzine, and is used for the warps of 
fabrics. Before winding the cocoons a fiossy por- . 
tion has to be removed ; and after all has been 
wound off another portion remains like a compact 
bag ; these are collected and sold under the name 
of waste-silk, and to these are added the fragments 
of broken threads, which accumulate in consider- 
able quantities during the reeling and throwing 
operations. Formerly very little use was made of 
waste- silk ; not a little of it was emi^loyed by 
engineers and others for mere cleaning purposes ; 
although as early as 1671 a proposition was made 
by a manufacturer named Edmond Blood to make 
it available by carding it Avith teasels or roving- 
cards. He took out a patent for this invention, 
but apparently did not bring it into use. 

It has been left to the 19th century to perfect 
the s]5inning into yarn of waste-silk. Mr Lister 
of Bra(lford (in 1891 created Lord Masham) in 1857 
discovered a successful method of spinning native 
Chassum, or Indian silk- waste, there being then a 
very considerable quantity warehoused in London, 
for which, however, no use had been found. Since 



SILK. Vo 

that period many important improvements in dress- 
ing and spinning- waste-silk have been invented, 
and a great trade has resulted in the manufac- 
ture of fabrics made from these yarns in Yorkshire, 
Alsace, Switzerland, and France. Another patent 
was taken out by Mr Lister, which has done 
Avonders; now the waste is all spun into yarn, 
thereby greatly economising the use of silk, as 
the quantity of silk-waste always greatly exceeds 
the amount of good silk reeled oit". The processes 
employed in the production of silk-yarn from the 
waste differ little from those of spinning, especially 
for cheap and common qualities of cotton and wool. 
The following silk centres represent the present 
and past localities of British silk manufacture: 
London (Spitalfields), Derby, Coventry, Sherborne 
(Dorsetslnre), Sudbury, Glemsford and Haverhill 
(Suftblk), Braintree, Yarmouth, Bungay, Leicester 
Nottingham, Norwich, Macclesfield, Leek, Contde- 
ton, city and district of Manchester, Rochdale, 
Bradford, Halifax, city and district of Glasgow city 
and district of Dublin, Tideswell (Derbyshire). 
Leek is justly celebrated for its manufactures of sew- 
ing and embroidery silks, a branch greatly increased 
since the introduction of the sewing-machine, ^diich 
necessitated long and evenly-made lengths of silk 
thread of many sizes and colours. Leek h as become 
the largest centre of dyeing silk in England ; it is 
noted for the production of a special 'raven black,' 
nowhere else produced, and so called from its resein- 
blance to the bluish-black plumage of a raven's 
wing. It is said that this shade is partly owing to 
the peculiar quality of the water used in dyeino- 
Silk IS also dyed in London, Glasgow, Macclesfield 
Coventry, Middleton, and other places, but to a 
much diminished extent. 

Statistics.—Ahoxxt 100 lb. of cocoons are raised 
^'y^y", } „02- o^ eggs, and 12 to 14 lb. of cocoons 
yiexd 1 lb. of raw silk ; but the quantity is variable 
and depends on silkAvorm study, selection of ego-g, 
and in crossing the numerous varieties. As far^as 
can be ascertained, the total quantity of raAv silk 
annually produced in the world is upwards of 22 
millions of pounds. China furnishes 38-53 per 
cent.; Italy, 29-65 per cent., Japan, 12 per cent.: 
!< ranee, 7-52 per cent.; the Levant, 6-21 per cent • 
India, 3-82 per cent. 

Of silk manufacturing countries France is the 
principal. The French consumption of raAv silk 
amounts to about 9,918,000 lb. per annum, the 
value ot which is estimated at from £10,000,000 to 



16 SILK. 

£12,000,000. France itself produces about one- 
eigbtli of the raw silk consumed (there were 242,000 
growers in 1890); the rest being imported from 
Italy and Asiatic countries. The total value of 
manufactured silk produced by France is estimated 
at from £24,000,000 to £26,000,000 per annum ; the 
total production of the world being £64,000,000. 
France thus produces about two-fifths of the whole, 
the total number of silk looms in France being 
estimated at 230,000. 

The British silk trade was formerly much larger 
than it is at present. The treaty with France 
which allowed French silks to come in duty free 
found Great Britain and Ireland unal)le to compete 
with France, and in a short time the trade dwindled 
immensely, with disastrous results to Spitalfields, 
Coventry, Macclesfield, Congleton, Dublin, Man- 
chester, and a few other centres. Fi-om this it has 
never recovered ; but it is hoped by the promotion .of 
a higher efficiency, and by the equalisation of wages 
and hours of labour throughout the Continent, that 
Britain may once more come to enjoy her fair share 
in this important and beautiful industry, having a 
climate splendidly suited for all stages of manu- 
facture, tliough not for sericulture. The following 
figures, taken from the Board of Trade returns of 
1890, show the total quantity of silk manufactured 
in Great Britain. 

Raw 262,168 lb. =£173,138 

Knubs or husks of silk and waste. . . 11,189 cwt. -= £114,893 

Thrown 124,149 lb. = £90,119 

Manufactures £935,730 

The history of silk production in America dates 
from 1530, Avhen the first mulberry-trees and silk- 
Avorms were imported into Mexico. But by 1600 
the industry had died out there ; and a like fate 
overtook it in Virginia l^efore the end of the 
next century, and practically everywhere by the 
beginning of the 19th century, although it had 
been vigorously encouraged by Englancl, filatures 
established, and Georgia alone in one year had 
sent home nearly 2000 lb. of raw silk. _ About 
1825 a powerful effort was made to revive the 
industry in the United States ; silk societies were 
established, and manuals of silk-culture, such as 
J. H. Coble's, printed and distributed by state 
legislatures and by congress. But success was pre- 
vented by a craze for speculation in Chinese mul- 
berry-trees, which ended in wide-spread ruin in 
1839. Since then silk-culture has never flourished 
in America. It was taken up with eagerness in 



SILK. 17 

California in 1854, but quickly dwindled and died ; 
there is a state board of silk-culture in San 
Francisco, but it has not succeeded in arousing 
much interest in it. At Philadelphia a Woman's 
Silk-culture Association was founded in 1876, so 
far with the same result ; nor has conmiercial 
success encouraged the attempts of the Agricul- 
tural Department, which established a filature at 
Washington in 1886 for reeling silk from American 
cocoons, and has distributed eggs of large Milanese 
silkworms. But if silk-culture has failed so far to 
engage American attention and ciipital, the reverse 
has been the case with tiie silk manufacture. This 
began in New England early in the 18th century, \ 
ami steam-power for the manufacture of sewing- s^ 
silk was introduced in 1810, improved machinery 
quickly following, until before the civil war a 
great trade had grown up in twist, dress-trim- 
mings, ribbons, and woven silk goods. Laces were 
manufactured at Brooklyn in 1871, and since 1876 
silk handkerchiefs, tapestry, and velvets, besides 
dress-silks of all sorts, have been manufactured in 
steadily-increasing quantities and excellent quali- 
ties. The most famous seat of the American silk 
manufactm-e is Paterson (q.v.), with considerably 
more than 100 mills. In 1874 the value of ail 
silk goods manufactured in the United States was 
§16,269,157; in 1880 it was §34,519,723. In 1880 
2,562,236 lb. of raw silk was imported ; in 1890 
this had risen to 7,510,440, valued at §24,325,531, 
whilst manufactures of silk to the amount of 
§38,686,374 were imported. 

Wild Silks. — This is a generic term generally 
signifying those silks used in commerce, and those 
not at present utilised, other than silk of the mul- 
berry-feeding worms, but relates almost entirely to 
the Saturnid.T, whose fibres are more or less flat; it 
necessarily includes a few species which are sub- 
ject to more or less of domestication, such as the 
Eria and ]Muga of Assam. Most of the principal 
wild silkworms are Asiatic. The best known are 
those of India. There are a few species in North 
America, one or two of which have received some 
attention. South America and the West Indies 
contain many others, and are almost unworked 
fields. The following list includes all the prin- 
cipal wild silks : 

Atlas ami Eria Group.— Attacus atlas, A. silhetica, A. 
edwardsia, A. cynthia, A. ricini, A. canningi, A. lunula, 
A. obscurus, A. querini. 



18 SILK. 

Actias Group. — Actias selene, A. sinensis, A. leto, A. 
7nccnas, A. ignescens. 

Tussur and Mug a Group. — Anthercea mylitta, A. 
andamana, A. mezankooria, A. frithii, A, nebulosa, A. 
heifer i, A. perrotteti, A. assama, A. roylei. 

Miscellmieous Group. — Salassa lola, Minaca zulcika, 
Rhodia neivara, Cali/jula thibeta, C. simla, C. cachara, 
Neoris huttoni, N. shadulla, iV. stoliczkana, Saturyiia 
eidosa, S. grotci, S. lindia, S. anna, Loipa katinka, L. 
sikkimxi, L. sivalica, L. miranda, Cricula trifenestrata, 
C. drepanoides, Anthercea pernyi, A. confuci, A. yaraa- 
Diai, Saturnia pyretorum, Neoris shadulla, Theophila 
viandarina. 

Of these a few species only need be noticed here. 
Anthercea yamct-mai is <a Japanese species, which 
feeds on tlie leaves of the oak. It is peculiar to 
Japan, and has long been held in high estimation 
there, more so formerly than now. At one period 
its silk was solely reserved for the use of royalty, 
and the penalty of death is said to have been in- 
ilicted upon any person found using it or taking 
the eggs. At the present time it is woven along 
with the ordinary silk of commerce in patterns, 
giving the separate effects of each silk. The Eria 
silk is the product of the Eri or Arindi worm of 
Assam. It is largely cultivated in that part of 
India, and is handspun and woven by the natives 
in garments, rough, but so durable that mothers 
are said to leave them to their daughters. The 
cocoon is soft and not compact ; it has hitherto 
been found impossible to unwind it in a continuous 
thread, and in consequence of this difficulty it is 
rudely spun by hand like flax. It would be largely 
employed in Europe for machine-spinning if it 
could be cultivated and exported in quantity. Its 
excellences for this process of manufacture are well 
known. The worm chiefly feeds on the Ricinus 
comtnunis, or castor-oil plant. Attacas cynthia is 
a species closely allied to Aftncus ricini. It comes 
originally from China, and feeds on the Allan to 
(q.v. ) tree. Its cocoons were first received in 
Europe in November 1856, and hatched out the 
following year, and towards the middle of May 
1857 the first living specimen of Attacas cynthia 
was born in Europe. These cocoons were sent by 
Abbe Fantoni, a Piedmontese missionary, from 
the province of Shan Tung, in the north of China, 
situate just south of Pekin, to some friends at 
Turin. This species was first introduced into Eng- 
land in 1859, and reared by Mr F. Moore of the 
East India Museum. The larvae, feeding on the 



SILK. 19 

castor-oil plant, and hatched from eggs sent by 
M. Giierin Meneville, were exhibited by Mr Moore 
before the Entomological Society of London in 




Fig. 4. — Ailanthus Silkworm {Attacus cynthia), reduced, 
showing Cocoon attached to a leaf. 

October 1859. Afterwards Lady Dorothy Nevill 
cultivated that species extensively, and planted in 
her park in the south of England a number of 
Ailanto trees. Dr Wallace also wrote on this silk- 
worm, and considerable efforts have been made in 
France and in England to domesticate it, but with- 
out success. T\\Q Attacus atlas is found over India. 
It is the largest known moth, being often 10 inches 
in expanse of wing. The cocoon is large, but the 
fibre is coarse ; it has not hitherto been used in the 
reeled state, but it is utilised in the Nepal Terai 
by the Mechi people, in the form of rudely-made 
cloths. The warp and weft are handspun yarns of 
long staple. The Antherwa assama or Muga silk 
is confined to Assam, and is largely cultivated for 
native purposes. A little is exported to Dacca 
and Calcutta for embroidery purposes. Could the 
natives be induced to cultivate it on a commercial 
scale for exportation it would have a widely 
extended use, for it is a silk that could easily 
be utilised for many European purposes. 

The last two silks are the principal wild ones ; 
they may from their similarity be classed as one, 
and are known under the name of Tussur silk 
— a name said to be derived from tasara, a \veaver's 



/ 



20 SILK. 

shuttle. The species known as Anthercea licrnyi 
is a native of China ; the worm feeds on the leaves 
of the oak. It is very largely cultivated for export 
to Europe. That known as A n thenea mylitta is the 
principal species, and is exclusively Indian, being 
found over all parts of the country, particularly 
in Bengal. The Tussur silkworm when fully 
grown is very large and beautiful. It is about 
5^ inches long. Its cocoon is hard and compact ; 
the silk is of a deep fawn colour, which has to 
be resolved before any delicate shades of colour 
can be dyed upon it. The rapidly extended 
utilisation of this silk is very Avonderful. About 
1871 its European use was almost confined to the 
Avearing of native-made cloths in the undyed state, 
and the consumption was extremely small ; but in 
consequence of improvement in the bleaching and 
dyeing of this silk, at first effected by the writer 
of this article, as well as to his suggested utilisa- 
tion, its importation has now become a factor of 
serious import. The hbre is well adapted for pile 
fabrics, and very large quantities are used in York- 
shire for the manufacture of seal cloths, a fabric 
resembling sealskin. France has taken up the 
utilisation of this silk for trimming and upholstery 
purposes, and the present consumption at Lyons 
averages 100 bales per week, and as such bales con- 
tain 130 to 140 lb. the weekly consumption there 
amounts to so large a quantity as about 140,000 lb. 
The fibre of Tussiu- silk is ilat or tape-like, and 
much thicker than the ordinary silk of commerce. 

The following table gives the results of the 
measurements of the principal silk fibres, also 
their strength and tension. 

See also the articles Dyeing, Lyons, Moire, Ribbon, 
Satin, Velvet, Weaving, &c. ; Lardner's Cyclopaedia ; 
the monograph by Cobb in 'British Manufacturing 
Industries' (1876); American works by Brockett (1879), 
Wyckoff (1879), Crozier (1880), and Riley (188(3); and 
the following works by the j^resent writer : The Wild Silks 
of India (published as a South Kensington Handbook), 
The E'/u/lish Silk Industry (part of vol. iii, of the second 
Report of the Royal Commissioners on Technical 
Education, 1884), and Silk: its Entomology, History, 
&c. (1888). 



SILK. 



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